In Tucson, an alternative to more private prisons and a chance to escape drug addiction

A Pima County drug-rehab program is offering repeat felons an alternative to prison that's far less costly than building more private prisons, supporters say

After Heather McNeeley was convicted for a third time for drug possession, she was offered the option of going into the county's Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison - the only program of its kind in Arizona.(Photo: John Samora/The Republic)

Story Highlights

Pima County drug-rehabilitation program offering repeat felons an alternative to prison.

Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall says the program is less expensive than building more prisons.

The Department of Corrections is seeking state funding for its own drug-treatment program.

This story has been updated for clarity regarding the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys Advisory Council's prison population report.

TUCSON – Heather McNeeley already had spent one birthday behind bars for using drugs, and she was looking at another 3.5 years in prison for possessing and trying to sell heroin in 2012.

Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall, however, gave McNeeley a chance to stay out of the pokey.

McNeeley was allowed to enroll in the county's Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison (DTAP) program — the only one of its kind in Arizona.

LaWall said DTAP, started in 2010 and funded mostly by federal grants, costs less than half of what it takes to send a non-violent drug offender to prison. LaWall, a prosecutor for nearly 40 years, added that the state could save millions of dollars if it shifted money to drug treatment instead of adding more private prison beds.

Just one private-prison company, Corrections Corporation of America, on Sept. 30 submitted a bid to provide up to 2,000 more medium-security beds that could cost taxpayers nearly $50 million.The Arizona Department of Corrections is asking Ducey for 2,500 more inmate beds, with most possibly going to a private contractor, in next year's budget. The agency declined to comment for this story.

"We are saving the state money, and we would like a steady stream of funding to keep this program going. But there are a lot of challenges that anyone will face to replace incarceration with drug treatment," LaWall said. "It's very difficult for the public to wrap their heads around: that repeat criminals can be rehabilitated."

Heather McNeeley (left) and Tabitha Frable share memories of a recently passed client during a break at Haven Rehabilitation Center in Tucson on Sept. 30, 2015.(Photo: John Samora/The Republic)

McNeeley said she had plenty of doubters, including her parents, who were unsure that entering a residential, therapeutic community-treatment system in lieu of prison would keep her clean.

Yet today, McNeeley said she's been alcohol- and drug-free for nearly four years. And she's working full time at The Haven, the women's residential center that helped her end her addictions.

"DTAP gave me a chance, and no one wants to give a chance to heroin addicts and ex-felons," said McNeeley, 28. "Prison doesn't teach you anything. There is no help."

Joyce Morgan, The Haven's clinical-services chief, said McNeeley is a model employee and has helped others find stable housing.

"She is a real blessing. Every day she is in recovery gives our clients hope," Morgan said.

"We give them an incredible amount of services," LaWall said. "Some come into the program who are meth addicted. If they have been longtime meth users, their mouths are a wreck. We get them new teeth. How can you go out and interview for a job or try and get hired in an office or an agency when you look like a meth addict?"

To get into DTAP, a drug offender must be a Pima County resident facing a mandatory prison sentence, and have no history of violent or sex crimes and no other pending felonies. Offenders enter a 90-day residential treatment center or an intensive outpatient substance-abuse treatment program, where they reside in probation-approved housing.

Since it began, DTAP has had 113 participants. It has an overall success rate of 70 percent, according to LaWall's office. There were 43 defendants in the program in fiscal 2015. Those who fail and return to drugs are sent to prison.

The program was unable to add new defendants in the last three months of 2013 because of a lack of funding. It received an additional $1.1 million in federal grants last year to keep the program going for four more years. Tucson and Pima County have provided some funding, and the Legislature gave the program $250,000.

Meanwhile, state funding for Corrections has increased nearly 46 percent over the past decade, to $1 billion annually. The biggest impact in additional inmates comes from convicted drug traffickers, according to the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys' Advisory Council.

State budget records show funding for private prisons has more than tripled to nearly $152 million during that era, as private-prison companies have made campaign contributions to key Republican legislative leaders and current and former governors.

At the same time, K-12 education funding has increased just more than 9 percent.

LaWall said if her program received the same amount of money as private prisons, DTAP could "do some bang-up work with drug-treatment alternatives."

LaWall said the average cost of placing a convict in DTAP is $12,593. The average cost to incarcerate a person for one year is at least $23,730, according to the DOC. LaWall said a typical drug offender spends about 18 months in prison, raising the cost of incarceration to $35,595.

In its budget request to Ducey, the DOC said it "lacks the resources to offer treatment to the majority of offenders with substance-abuse issues."

Corrections said it released 19,773

inmates from custody during the past fiscal year. Of those who served their sentences, approximately 77 percent needed substance-abuse treatment. However, DOC only graduated 2,009 inmates from drug-treatment programs.

The agency is seeking $665,100 for additional substance-abuse programs for inmates. It also is asking for $17.6 million to start the process of adding more private-prison beds,

LaWall, first elected Pima County attorney in 1996, said she began the DTAP program because she was tired of seeing low-income drug offenders continually cycle through the courthouse in Tucson with similar, new charges after spending time behind bars. She said those charged with drug offenses who had financial means could seek a plea bargain that exchanged prison for drug treatment.

"That was really nice for people who had resources, but what about the mass number of people on my docket who had a public attorney and couldn't afford rehabilitation?" LaWall said. "They are certainly not getting it (drug rehabilitation) in prison."

Heather McNeeley checks on paperwork filled out by Haven clients in Tucson on Sept. 30, 2015.(Photo: John Samora/The Republic)

Reach the reporter at craig.harris@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8478.